NEW HAVEN >> A 50-year-old New Haven man was caught in the act of robbing a Kimberly Avenue Store on St. Patrick’s Day with a kitchen knife, police said.

Hector Luis Marrero, of Greenwich Avenue, was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny. Police say Marrero has “a very lengthy” criminal record dating back to 2002.

Violence Deterrence Unit Officers Joseph Galvan and Gary Monk responded to a robbery in progress call from the Sam’s Store, 16 Kimberly Ave., just before 10 p.m. on Friday. A dispatcher told the officers the robber was armed with a large knife and was likely still in the store.

As the officers entered the store through the rear door, they saw two men and a woman struggling on the ground, police said. Police identified Marrero as the suspect and grabbed him and handcuffed him. He still had the cash he had taken from the register clutched in his hand, police said. They also recovered a knife.

Marrero was bleeding from the mouth, an injury sustained during his struggle with the two victims, so EMTs were summoned, according to police.

The store clerk told police he had been closing up and was letting the clerk of the neighboring Dunkin’ Donuts out through the back door when Marrero burst in waving a large kitchen knife. Marrero demanded “everything” and took cash from the store’s lottery register and from the clerk himself, according to police.

The Dunkin’ Donuts clerk said she had called police right away. At one point, she suspected Marrero was distracted enough and thought she could disarm him, according to police. As she grabbed the knife from Marrero, the store clerk tackled him to the ground, police said. The Dunkin’ Donuts clerk then grabbed a coffee pot and hit the suspect over the head with it, according to the report.